Have you ever gone through a week and just shook our head and said, “Whoa! What was that all about?” Well, last week was that kind of week for me. It started out as most weeks start off. Working on my day off, having to meet with contractors (we are renovating a building that was donated to us) to get quotes and the like, ministry meetings and family stuff as usual.
Well, Tuesday started out pretty much the same as always and then things kind of turned “Whoaish.” I meet with four other pastors in the area for lunch and accountability. During the lunch I started to feel a little nauseous and lightheaded. Now I had had this kind of episode before and I thought it would just go away like it had the other times before. You know how hardheaded we guys can be. I even told the guys to go ahead and leave me there because I thought it would just go away. Well, about five minutes after they all left, I realized I wasn’t going to be okay. Along with the nausea and lightheadedness my chest began to hurt. That was when things started to make me go “Ummm.” I texted my wife to come and help and then my secretary had come into the Epicenter (where I was lying on the couch not being able to get up). So after a call to 911 and a first-ever ride in an ambulance I was laying in the emergency room at the Greenville hospital.
Sorry about all the boring details, but they are necessary to what I want to say. To make a long story short I ended up having to have a heart catheterization. You’ll be glad to know (well, at least I am) that all I have is a little plaque. Nothing a good toothbrush won’t take care of and taking away my salt shaker. So, I asked if you ever had a week that made you Say, “Whoa! What was that all about?” Well, those are the very words I asked God.
As I was lying in the hospital bed on Thursday just about to go in for my heart cath, a verse kept reverberating around in my heart. In my life and in my church, I believe God wants us to not just talk about him but to actually live out what we say we believe. If I say I love God, then my words, my actions, where I hang out and who I hang out with is going to match up with who and what God desires for me.
Now on Wednesday I had two visitors from my congregation, and during that visit one of them said to me, “Pastor Phil, I did something I have never done before.” This person has some physical ailments that don’t allow them to do certain things. I said, “And what was that?” They said, “Get on my knees.”
I was blown away that someone would get on their knees when it physically hurts them to do so, just to lift me up to God in prayer. “Wow!” I don’t know about you, but I realized “What the week was all about.”
In the letter to the Galatians, Paul is writing to a group of Gentile believers who were struggling in their faith. They were being told that they had to be circumcised to have faith and if they didn’t they really weren’t followers of Christ. Paul wrote and said, wait a minute, it’s not about outward things, it’s about inward things and this is what blew me away. The Lord had allowed my congregation and me to live out the Scriptures. Read to Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. The only thing that counts ... interesting!
The love that was expressed toward me because of their faith during this past week was truly amazing and I praise God from whom all blessings flow. May you get to live out the scriptures today. Peace.
Phil Beck is pastor of Central Community Church, Pymatuning Township.
Religion
Faith expressing itself in love was what that was all about
From the Pulpit
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We are part way there, but don’t allow destination to eclipse journey
Today is Day 42 if you are counting. It is 42 days since we left Egypt. We have seven more days to go. Seven more days until we will camp at the foot of Mount Sinai and prepare ourselves to receive the Ten Commandments on the 50th day.
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Churches eyeing exit
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St. Paul’s UCC to mark 150 years
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We also welcome visitors and others who rarely attend other than Christmas and Easter. And we wonder, what happens the rest of the year?
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In words and pictures
A minister and his son combined words and pictures to create 26 portraits of Christ, and now those portraits are available in their new book.
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Whole lotta shaking goin’ on: Based on Bible, God’s at work
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St. Patrick must have wondered what lesson God was teaching
Have you ever wondered what God is up to in your life? Maybe you have felt frustrated that things weren’t going the way you would want. Or you wonder if God is hearing your prayers or even notices your problems. At times like these we can learn a thing or two from St. Patrick.
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We are part way there, but don’t allow destination to eclipse journey
